For the VP & Director of Operations

The Operations's Guide to Autonomous Operations

Last updated July 2026

The short answer

Autonomous operations means AI agents handle the routine inventory and procurement decisions continuously, escalating only the exceptions and value calls to a human. Maintained runs the day-to-day and asks for approval on what matters, so your team scales without adding headcount.

What you're measured on

Speak in cost-to-serve, service level, cycle time, and scaling without headcount.

  • Cost-to-serve
  • Labor productivity
  • Order cycle time
  • Service level

Where the value is

  • Automate routine replenishment, sourcing, and disposition decisions
  • Escalate only exceptions and value calls to a person
  • Codify tribal knowledge into always-on decisioning
  • Scale operations without adding headcount

The pains this removes

  • Manual, tribal-knowledge processes
  • Expedites and constant firefighting
  • Inventory records that don't match the shelf
  • Idle stock eating rack space

The numbers behind it

83%
83% of distribution executives have implemented AI in at least one function, up from 35% in 2023.
Epicor
20–30%
AI-driven optimization can cut inventory 20–30% while holding service levels, and reduce forecasting error up to 50%.
Epicor / MDM
3.2×
Procurement 'Digital Masters' see 3.2× GenAI ROI versus 1.5× for followers, and allocate up to 24% of budget to procurement technology.
Deloitte 2025 Global CPO Survey

Frequently asked questions

How should a Operations approach run autonomous inventory and procurement operations?

Speak in cost-to-serve, service level, cycle time, and scaling without headcount. Autonomous operations means AI agents handle the routine inventory and procurement decisions continuously, escalating only the exceptions and value calls to a human. Maintained runs the day-to-day and asks for approval on what matters, so your team scales without adding headcount.

What outcome should a Operations expect?

Let the system decide the routine; your team owns the exceptions. Automate routine replenishment, sourcing, and disposition decisions

See what your inventory is really costing you.

Tell us where the cash is trapped — excess stock, idle surplus, slow RFQs — and we'll show you the outcome Maintained can unlock.